The Dark Side of Social Networking: Unenlightenment

So many social networking sites got started by somebody saying, hey, I think
this picture/song/band/whatever is great and I want to share it with my
friends….and before you can say MySpace that person has thousands of “friends”
who are also passionate in their opinion that the picture/song/band/whatever in
question is great.

Having friends is great; really, it is. We’re not against friends in the
least. Having a support network that can shore you up against a sea of doubt is
great, too. If you think Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Ole Oak Tree
is the best song ever produced, a virtual room full of friends reassuring you
that you’re right will boost your confidence like nothing else.

The problem is, a social network of like-minded people agreeing with you
doesn’t make the thing you’re all agreeing about true. All it means is that
there’s a bunch of people standing around agreeing with you. “You’re absolutely
bang-on about that song” has ominous echos of “Ah, emperor, that suit looks
positively dashing on you.” And when you start thinking it’s true
because you’re getting so may positive strokes from the network, you’re stuck
in group-think, and there’s a real risk of careening wildly off the roads of a
more broadly shared objective reality.

What all social networks need―and I include the social network revolving
around ThinkFree in this statement―is a way to spice up the conversation with
the unexpected, the serendipitous. All it really takes is one kid to say “but
mom, the emperor isn’t wearing any clothes,” and reality floods the
scene. We need our social networks not just to support and reaffirm us, but to
challenge us and test our beliefs and opinions.

Sometimes it’s far more instructive to seek out the opinions of the people
who disagree with what we’re thinking. We may never come around to see things
their way, but we may learn more about ourselves, our positions, and the things
about which we feel passionate. And that’s a good thing.